


cauterized and atrophied

by ninemelodies



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: 1k words of pure fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21567556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninemelodies/pseuds/ninemelodies
Summary: With everyone rescued from the Parnassus and the city in a stable state, Lio finds himself with free time. There’s nothing to keep his hands busy, nothing to distract his thoughts from the gnawing emptiness in his chest and the cavernous silence in his head.or, Lio Fotia and the aftermath
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 27
Kudos: 258





	cauterized and atrophied

**Author's Note:**

> once again thanks to bean for being my partner in crime for galolio fluff. ilu.

It was a slow burn. So slow Lio wasn’t aware of it until all that was left was ash. The walls he had built around his heart, the ones he made to hold in his emotions because his people were more important, had burned down to nothing. Lio figured it started in the Galo de Lion, when they resonated and burned the entire planet to the ground. With the Promare gone, there shouldn’t have been any more fires, but apparently Lio was wrong. 

Lio was cold now, and he felt so, so much more than he had allowed himself to in years. Lio felt empty. It was a seeping ache that started in his heart, let loose from its confines. With everyone rescued from the Parnassus and the city in a stable state, Lio finds himself with free time. There’s nothing to keep his hands busy, nothing to distract his thoughts from the gnawing emptiness in his chest and the cavernous silence in his head. 

Nothing, except for Galo Thymos. Galo crashed into Lio’s life approximately a week and a half before the end of the world as they knew it. Galo who was the most honorable and stubborn man Lio had ever met. Galo who saved Lio from himself in a moment when Lio was lost. Galo who was loud and kind and warm and _there._

Lio was always acutely aware of who was near him. It was a left-over instinct honed by years on the run. But Galo sent Lio’s proximity sensors off the charts. It was like standing near the sun. Galo burned so bright it was hard to look at him sometimes, but Lio didn’t mind. He didn’t mind being close to Galo when he was burning because it warmed Lio from the outside in. Galo made the emptiness in Lio’s chest smaller, and the first time he hugged Lio, (Galo was covered in soot and ash, having just rescued a child stuck on the top floor of a burning building. Lio had forgotten what true fear felt like until he saw the building collapse) Lio felt complete. 

It was like a switch had been flipped. Lio started making up excuses to touch Galo. His hands were cold, here, feel. There was soot smudged across Galo’s back, and if Lio just never let go well it was because it just wasn’t coming off. Lio started “falling asleep” on Galo during movie nights, and without fail, Galo would carry him to bed. It was a guilty pleasure, and one Lio would never admit to out loud. 

Lio used to push people away, couldn’t let anyone besides his people close for fear of betrayal, but now, now it felt like Galo was never close enough. Lio must not be as subtle about it as he thinks he is because two weeks after he finds every excuse to touch Galo, after another night of falling “asleep” on Galo during movie night, Galo drops Lio off in his bed and then climbs in a few minutes later. 

It’s quiet and still in a way that Lio isn’t used to. It’s calm, and Lio feels himself letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. The tension releases from Lio’s shoulders and his jaw unclenches. Unconsciously, he had been so afraid that Galo would reject him, would hate him for what he used to be and what he had done. Logically, he knew Galo wasn’t like that. Galo didn’t hold grudges, Galo just wanted justice and peace and for his friends to be happy. 

Galo’s breathing is even and soft, so Lio shifts closer, slow enough to not wake Galo. He’s not expecting Galo to wrap an arm around his shoulders and tuck Lio into the space underneath his arm. “You know, if you wanted a hug all you have to do is ask.” Galo’s voice is sleep soft and warm, and it washes over Lio like the most perfect of blankets. 

Lio tightens his fingers in the softness of Galo’s sleep shirt. Realistically, he knew that. He had never seen Galo turn down any form of physical affection, even when he was injured and probably should have. But it was so hard, for so long Lio couldn’t get close to anyone, for so long Lio was on the run. Lio had been rejected and hated for as long as he could remember, and it was hard to unlearn an ingrained fear. How could he explain that to Galo though? That he didn’t know how to ask for affection after spending so long recoiling from touch. “I didn’t know how,” is what he settles on. 

Galo’s fingers are rubbing a slow circle on Lio’s shoulder. He hums and calms all of Lio’s rising thoughts. “If I gave you a way, would you use it?” 

Words aren’t working with Lio right now, so he nods. He knows Galo can feel it, even if he can’t see it. 

“Okay,” Lio feels Galo shift and even though it’s dark, he can see the dull shine of Galo’s eyes peering at him. “When you want a hug or any kind of physical touch, tug on my belt loop or shirt twice, okay?” 

And god, what did Lio do to deserve this man? Society had hated Lio from the moment he awoke as a Burnish. He had stripped Galo of all his armor, pinned him to the roof of a burning building and threatened to kill him, and yet here Galo was, helping Lio work through issues he wasn’t even aware he had. His throat is too tight to talk, and his vision is going watery. Lio hasn’t cried in a long time, but he’s aware that he’s always been an ugly crier. 

Instead of answering verbally, Lio grabs a fistful of Galo’s shirt and tugs twice before letting go. Galo moves close in an instant, arms wrapping around Lio’s shaking form. Lio can feel the smile Galo presses against the top of his head followed by the brief kiss to Lio’s forehead. 

And for the first time since awakening as a Burnish, Lio feels truly safe and at home.

**Author's Note:**

> as always you can catch me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/GODF0RSAKEN)/[tumblr](https://ninemelodies.tumblr.com/)


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